by Masters Tuesday is when it gets real. Starting times are released, press conferences run all day, and the Augusta National grounds are abuzz. It’s almost here.
With all of the various ways to watch the Masters, it’s almost inevitable that you will see every player during coverage at some point this week. But some groups are definitely more interesting than others. Here is who I would organize my schedule around for Thursday and Friday.
Favorite Tee Times for the 2024 Masters
Thursday/Friday (All times EDT)
8:48 AM/11:54 AM – Gary Woodland, Thorbjørn Olesen, Bryson DeChambeau – Augusta National has largely had Bryson’s number over the years, as evidenced by a T-46 and two MCs in his last three starts. I still think he’s an elite player, but at some point he needs to contend at a major that isn’t wall-to-wall rough.
9:48 AM/1:00 PM – Nick Taylor, Joaquín Niemann, Russell Henley – Niemann played and politicked his way into the first major of the year. Time to see how he stacks up. And if you want some unsolicited advice, I think Nick Taylor and Russell Henley are some fun top-10 or top-20 plays this week.
10:18 AM/1:24 PM – Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas – A group of potential contenders I am genuinely excited to watch this week.. Of the three, I’m keen to see if post-surgery Willy Z will be the major-championship stalwart we’ve come to know.
10:42 AM/1:48 PM- Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele – A supergroup at the Masters? A SUPERGROUP AT THE MASTERS!
10:54 AM/2:00 PM- Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith – Two years ago, it would be unfathomable that Clark would be the name most likely to contend from this group. I’m as interested in seeing if Hov and Cam can bounce back from recent rough play as I am in seeing if Wyndham can make noise as a Masters rookie.
1:36 PM/10:30 AM – Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim – What does Brooks have in the tank? He was truly terrible last week at Doral, something we don’t usually see from Koepka before he contends at a major.
1:48 PM/10:42 AM – Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Åberg, Sahith Theegala – Ludvig will be doing a lot of peering into the pines while waiting on his playing partners to pitch out. For sheer entertainment value, this is a top-tier group.
2:00 PM/10:54 AM – Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood – Three seriously notable names, but can any of them contend?
Others of Note
10:30 AM/1:36 PM – Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap – I’ll be floored if Rahm isn’t in the top 10 at the bare minimum.
1:12 PM/10:06 AM – Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young – Cam Young will finish T-10 and Sam Burns will finish T-22. I’m confident in that, but I wish they’d do better.
1:24 PM/10:18 AM – Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa – History is on the line as Tiger goes for his 24th consecutive made cut at the Masters.
